Smrt Lernins

What does a homeschooler look like? You get to decide! Well, ok, I get to decide, but you get to provide me with a wide range of options from which to decide, which is almost as good and puts a lot less burden on your already overburdened shoulders.

Close your eyes and picture your interpretation of the quintessential homeschooler. What do s/he and her/his children look like? Is she wearing a denim jumper with an appliqued cardigan? Are they wearing mismatched clothing and badly in need of haircuts? Are perfectly coordinated poloshirts or yoked dresses involved somewhere? Does someone have a Aquanet-stiff beehive and a modest-necked sweater or a pair of worn out Birkenstocks and the lingering smell of patchouli?

Now ask yourself: “Do I look like that homeschooler?”

Our contest is simple, yet ludicrous, and the prize is absurd, yet priceless (simply by virtue of being awarded by Smrt Lernins). Here’s how to enter:

1. Find the best picture of you and/or your children looking like what YOU think of when you think of “homeschooler.” You decide what “homeschooler” looks like.
2. Comment to this blog with a link to that picture.

The winner will be chosen by an expert panel of judges (ie. my family) and announced here. One photograph entry per commenter, though if you can rope your spouse, partner, significant other, children, mom, or neighbor into entering a picture of your family, you can always get an additional shot at the grand prize.

Want more chances to win? A second winner will be chosen at random to win a second, even more absurd prize. Entering could only be simpler if you sent us the message psychically. Gain one entry in our random draw for:

1. Each link to this post AND/OR
2. Tweeting “@smrtlernins and I look like homeschoolers, and so can you! http://bit.ly/digDMv”
3. Commenting here with a link to the blog where you posted about our contest or your Twitter name.

While you’re limited to one Twitter-related entry, you can post this link to as many blogs or websites as you can without being called a wanton spammer, gaining one entry in our random draw per link! Don’t forget to leave a comment with the link, though, because despite that comment about entering psychically, no one at Smrt Lernins has developed psychic powers yet…that I know of.

Show me what a homeschooler looks like to you, tell other people about it, and win ridiculous prizes. So simple, even a public schooler could do it*.

Contest is open until February 28th. That’s almost a whole month, you guys! Plenty of time to make entries all over the blogosphere.

*And I’d know, as I went to public school.

Lisa M. asks, “How much ‘outside’ schooling do you do? I mean classes or subjects that you do not teach yourself and either have someone else teach or pay for at a local facility.

Have I mentioned my undying love for Patchfire? Apart from having a wo-mance with her (which is like a bromance, only for women), I also share a little mini co-op with this delightfully intelligent woman of many talents. Twice a week, we get together so that she can teach science to our oldest children. On Tuesdays, Patchfire and her brood come over here for Captain Science and Eclectic Girl to delve into a wonderful course in the human brain, taught by Patchfire (about an hour of work). After that, I spend the next hour working with them on creative writing, while Patchfire entertains the smaller kids. Our current topic is writing short stories, which both kids seem to be taking to quite well.

On Thursdays, we zip over to her house after dropping off the Tank. There, the kids work on physics units, covering a wide array of topics, such as sound, color and light, water and heat, electricity, magnetism, etc. We’re usually there from around 9:30 to 12, plenty of time to finish all the experiments and even have a little play time.

Captain Science is also receiving piano lessons twice weekly from my great-aunt. It’s a nice break to the monotony of Mondays and Wednesdays, which are our biggest academic work days.

Later in the spring, I’d like to start both boys in some art classes. Art isn’t my strongest area, and I think they’d both benefit from some additional instruction. We’ll also have a little more money freed come summer time, once the Tank is no longer in preschool. I’m already looking at the possibly camps and programs they could enjoy this summer!

As a follow-up, Lisa would also like to know, “How far away would you travel for a class that fit your schedule that you could not teach?”.

Could not? There is very little I could not teach. I can’t imagine willingly traveling more than 20 minutes each way with any regularity. We have enough resources within a short drive that I wouldn’t be willing to drive to downtown Atlanta, up to Gwinnett, or any place like that just for a class. A one-time thing? Sure. A one-week camp, once a year? Maybe. A regular class? I’d just have to look for a closer alternative.

That’s how a [Smrt] Homeschooler handles outside schooling!

Do you have a question for the [Smrt] Homeschooler? Email them to
smrtmama@smrtlernins.com